About Me

Hi, I'm Michelle and I write Loomis Living to share the insights and experience of living a semi-rural lifestyle. I started Loomis Living in 2008 after moving to Loomis from suburbia. I grew up on 2 acres where I learned many of the gardening, building, and crafting skills I use today. On our small Loomis farm, we have 2 orchards, a large vegetable garden, and are raising chickens. For health reasons we follow a low sodium diet, so most of my recipes are made from scratch and omit sources of sodium.

Directions1. Mix all the ingredients except berries in a bowl. An electric mixer was useful for this step.2. Once the batter is smooth, gently stir in the berries until evenly distributed.3. Pour batter into a cake pan prepared with butter and flour.4. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes for a bundt pan. Other shaped pans would likely take less time. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.5. Turn cake onto a plate and let cool.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Earlier this year, I posted a recipe for an onion, lentil, and rice pilaf. I had stored some in the freezer and pulled it out a couple of weeks ago. Wow! It was still super tasty even after being frozen for several months. I decided to make a fresh batch.

The recipe is slightly altered from the last go around. Specifically, I cut out some of the hands on cooking time and added fresh cilantro to the end product.

Monday, September 13, 2010

I have come across several recipes that call for caramelized onions. After thinking to myself that there must be a easier way than standing over a saute pan for an hour, I did a quick search. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there are many websites that highlight caramelizing onions using a slow cooker. I instantly knew I had to try it out.

The process I used is simple:

1. Drizzle olive oil on the bottom of the slow cooker.2. Add onions (can be sliced, quartered, halved, or whole).3. Drizzle with olive oil on top.4. Cook on low for 12-15 hours (overnight works well).You may want to stir once or twice to make sure the onions don't stick.

The result is a pot full of beautiful onions ready to be used in your favorite dish.